


The Consult

by facetofcathy



Category: Stargate Atlantis, Torchwood
Genre: 5000-10000 Words, Bisexual Character, Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-28
Updated: 2008-10-28
Packaged: 2017-10-02 02:29:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/facetofcathy/pseuds/facetofcathy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>"No, no," Rodney said, and Woolsey's frown deepened in tandem with John's. "All of us are going. When Jack Harkness is involved, I'll take all the backup I can get."</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Consult

**Author's Note:**

> Set sometime in early season 5 for SGA and post season 2 Torchwood, hence herein be the potential for spoilers for all seasons of both shows.
> 
> Originally posted to LiveJournal on October 24, 2008

John sat next to Rodney and waited for Woolsey to explain why they'd been dragged away from work for an emergency meeting when there was no emergency—for once. Ronon and Teyla stood behind them flanking the door; Woolsey hadn't invited them, but John had corrected that oversight. Woolsey favoured them all with a sour look and said, "Our cooperation has been requested by an organization that has an unofficial affiliation with the IOA."

Rodney crossed his arms and tipped his head to one side. "Our?"

"Well more accurately yours, Doctor. The organization in question has occasion to come across alien artifacts, and they have acquired something that is believed to be Ancient in origin, although it's more recent provenance is a bit of a mystery."

"Believed by whom?" Rodney said.

"Ah, the item in question was briefly examined at the SGC. The representative from the organization was displeased with the progress of the scientist assigned to the task, and they have requested you specifically for a consult." Woolsey lifted his chin and attempted to out-glare Rodney.

"So," Rodney smiled and relaxed back into his chair. "The SGC put Bill Lee on the project, and Torchwood got frustrated and took the artifact back. How long did they last? Twenty minutes? Ten?"

"Torchwood?" John said and smiled a glittery smile at Rodney; he'd had enough of Rodney and Woolsey talking past him.

"That very word is classified, Doctor," Woolsey said. "Also, I was unaware you were familiar with the group."

Rodney turned as much of his back to Woolsey as the chairs allowed. "Torchwood," he said to John and glanced up to include Ronon and Teyla. "UK organization that does research on aliens and alien devices, and predates the SGC by decades." Rodney turned back to face Woolsey's frown. "They offered me a job once, well more than once actually. Was it the Cardiff branch or some other group? They're always a bit cagey about personnel; I don't know who works where anymore."

"Cardiff," Woolsey said grimly.

"Oh, ho. So was it Jack himself then? Damn, must have been. So scratch my earlier estimate, he wouldn't put up will Lee for more than five minutes."

"You are scheduled to gate back to Earth with the next data burst, Doctor. Please assemble any equipment you'll need."

"You're assuming I'll agree to this consult," Rodney said with a flat stare.

"Are you saying no?"

"Oh no, I wouldn't miss this for the world; it's just nice to be asked first," Rodney said cheerfully.

"I'm going with him," John said, not waiting to see if anyone planned on asking him first.

"Oh, um that is Teyla if you don't mind being separated from ah, from the baby?"

"Arrangements can be made, Doctor if you require my assistance," she said.

"Excellent." Rodney stood up and rubbed his hands together and rushed off muttering about the equipment he'd need.

* * *

John stared at the grey concrete bunker and was grateful all over again that he didn't have to work at the SGC. The tedious medical tests were nearly done, and Rodney was pacing outside Doctor Lam's door waiting for the all clear while the rest of the team waited patiently. Rodney was jumpy and nervous and looked a little worried as well. John hadn't been able to get many details out of him in their hurried preparations for the gate trip, and Rodney had spent the entire short briefing with General Landry engrossed in his laptop. He claimed he wasn't allowed to talk about most of what he knew about Torchwood and Jack Harkness. He had cited his security clearance, higher than John's, and refused to answer any questions.

"I am surprised that this Mr. Harkness person was allowed to remove his Ancient device from the SGC," Teyla said.

"Yeah, they're usually more paranoid around here," Ronon muttered.

"Yeah," John said and watched Rodney turn and pace back over well-trodden cement. "I got a vibe off Landry that they were just glad to get the guy out of here. He's probably some crazy scientist, seeing as how Rodney seems to like the guy so much, likely a real pain in the ass."

"Rodney likes us, and none of us are crazy scientists," Teyla said with a grin.

"No but we can be real pains in the ass though," John said, and Ronon snorted agreement.

Doctor Lam tried to leave her office and almost bounced off of Rodney. John figured they were good to go, so he stood up and headed for the exit. They took the elevator to the surface, collected the keys to a motor pool car that John was going to ditch for something better if they were here for longer than two days, and then they loaded the luggage and piled in. Rodney conceded the front seat to Ronon without a quibble.

"So, where are we going?" John asked once he was backed out and headed away from the mountain.

"Weren't you listening to Landry?" Rodney asked.

"Not as such, no."

"A place called the Mountain View Inn—terribly original name—you'll have to head into town and then back into the mountains on, um, Route twenty-four. Apparently Jack took over the whole place when he gave up on the SGC ever figuring the thing out."

John said, "So, about this Jack–"

"Forget about it. You have to experience the man first hand, anything I say you won't believe." Rodney turned to stare at the passing scenery, and John stabbed his foot down on the accelerator and wasn't impressed with the results.

* * *

John pulled into the parking lot of the Mountain View Inn, and it really did boast a nice view. There were only handful of cars off to one side of the lot, and one very cool looking motorcycle near the front door. John was no expert, he hadn't lived anywhere long enough to own a bike since he was twenty, but it looked genuinely vintage— World War Two era maybe. Rodney bounced out of the car as soon as they pulled up, paused to stretch his back with a wince, and then shook his head fondly over the bike and patted the seat with one hand, before he marched up the steps and disappeared inside.

"Oh hey, don't worry, Rodney," John called to the closed front door. "We'll grab your bags for you."

Ronon pulled all four duffel bags out of the trunk, hefted them in one hand, grabbed one of the equipment cases and stomped up the stairs. Teyla smiled at John and gestured to their surroundings. "It is very beautiful here, peaceful. Not what I expected from a trip to Earth."

"No, me either. Lets go meet this friend of Rodney's and find out what's really going on."

John and Teyla headed up the stairs, bringing the rest of the equipment with them. Inside, the Inn was all exposed beams and rustic charm. The man behind the counter was smiling into the face of Rodney's glare and handing out room keys, real keys even, not little plastic cards. John slouched up to the counter to see if Rodney's temper needed leashing. The fellow, owner maybe, was talking up their rooms and the local amenities. "Right, fine, not here for the mountain view," Rodney snapped.

"Yes, of course, sir. The Captain said you would need some time to refresh, something about a long journey? He has taken over the conference room on the third floor for his work. You may join him there after you have settled in."

"The Captain?" John asked.

"Jack, ah Jack has a sort of military—oh never mind, you'll see." Rodney snatched up his key, turned and plucked his bag off of Ronon's left shoulder, and headed for the stairs.

John's room was nice, fifth floor, big bed, wooden floors that glowed in the afternoon sun slanting in the window, gorgeous bathroom and a nice mountain view. John dumped his bag on the bed, stuck the gun he'd wheedled out of Landry into the waistband of his pants and headed for the third floor. Rodney was half a flight below him on the stairs, and Ronon and Teyla appeared behind John before he reached the first landing. John grabbed Rodney's elbow outside a closed door room marked as the Pines Conference Room. "This is not a vacation, McKay. You don't blunder in."

Rodney turned and started to glare, but it turned into a sly grin. "Fine, fine, Colonel. After you. In fact, after all of you." Rodney stood back to let them all precede him into the room.

John pushed the door open cautiously. The interior had the same wooden floors, big windows and afternoon light as his own room, but there wasn't the usual conference room set up of uncomfortable chairs and a podium. Instead, two large folding tables occupied the centre, and three large sofas and a coffee table filled up the far end of the room. A tall, dark-haired man stood looking out at the mountains. He was standing with his back to the door, legs spread wide and hands in the pockets of grey trousers that were as vintage looking as the bike outside. John hovered just inside the door, and Teyla and Ronon fanned out beside him.

The man turned around, and John noted the spiky, black hair that was not regulation for any military anywhere, but John still assumed that this was the famous Jack Harkness. Jack's face split into a wide grin, and he took a few steps towards them. He raked his gaze frankly over all three of them, smile growing wider. He took another step and John saw eyes as blue as Rodney's sparkling with amusement. "Well, look at you," the man said in a flat American accent, so not British at all. "Where did Rodney find you three?"

"You know the answer to that, Jack. Stop fooling around." Rodney's normally acerbic voice was softened by a fondness that John had never heard Rodney bestow on anyone. Rodney strode into the room, slid between John and Teyla and walked right up to Jack. John hadn't thought it possible, but the man's grin grew even wider, and his eyes lit with —something.

"But I like fooling around," Jack said, "It's one of the best parts of life, but yes I do know the answers— Lt. Colonel John Sheppard, US Air Force and Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagan, late of the Pegasus Galaxy. John didn't remember Landry saying anything about this guy having the clearance to know that.

"I'm not going to ask how you know that," Rodney said cheerfully.

"Probably wise. Enough of that for now, Rodney—let me look at you." Jack pulled his hands out of his pockets and gripped Rodney by the shoulders. He spun him around in half a turn and laughed happily. Rodney was grinning back like a, like a—like someone who knew this Jack fellow very, very well and wasn't surprised by anything he said or did. As soon as Jack's hands had landed on Rodney, John had taken a step forward. Ronon and Teyla had both tensed up but had maintained position.

"You've been keeping fit," Jack said and ran his hands appreciatively down Rodney's arms.

John expected Rodney to flinch away or back off—the guy was getting a little grabby—instead, Rodney laughed. "Oh, you know how it is, running, jumping, screaming in terror—keeps a man in shape. But what about you?" Rodney reached out and patted the very slight paunch the baggy shirt Jack was wearing failed to conceal. "You look well fed."

If John ever did that to Rodney, he'd be spending all his free time alone, and there'd be no hot water in his quarters for a month. Jack just laughed and clapped Rodney on the shoulder. "Oh, you know how it is, paperwork, stuck behind a desk all day, all that Welsh beer."

Rodney's smile wavered for a moment, and then Jack moved the hand he'd left lying so familiarly against Rodney's shoulder, sliding it slowly up to his neck. Jack curled his fingers around and into Rodney's hair, and Rodney wasn't moving, just smiling fondly and a little sadly. "It's good to see you again, Rodney," Jack said in a soft voice; the jaunty flirting was gone suddenly. He leaned towards Rodney, and before the obvious implication of the move fully hit John, he was kissing Rodney, and Rodney was winding his arms around the broad shoulders and kissing back. Rodney was kissing back very enthusiastically, fists full of blue cloth, as if Jack Harkness was the only thing holding him up. John blinked a few times but the view stayed the same. When Jack's hand started to wander over Rodney's back and then places lower down, John made a tiny noise of protest.

They broke off devouring each other, and Jack rested his forehead on Rodney's and just stood there with his eyes closed, hands back up in safer territory on Rodney's back. "You okay?" Rodney asked quietly.

"Yeah, no, I don't know. I won't ask how you know so much either, Rodney." Jack stood straight and took a deep breath, his eyes unashamedly damp, he turned to look at John, Ronon and Teyla. "I have to ask, Rodney. Is that guy your boyfriend?" John was both relieved and horrified to see Jack wave his hand at Ronon. "Because, if he is I'm going to have to start a cult just to worship you."

Rodney barked out a startled laugh and then just shook his head, "Sorry, Jack. I don't think I'm his type. And anyway the whole cult of Rodney's been done, and it's not as much fun as you'd think." John cleared his throat and Rodney rolled his eyes again. "Right, right. I'm not actually allowed to tell you about that either." Rodney pulled all the way free of Jack and rubbed his hands together. "As fun as this is, and really guys, you should see your little shocked faces—tech, where's the Ancient tech?"

Jack slung an arm around Rodney's shoulders and escorted him over to the large table in the centre of the room. Rodney beckoned a hand at John, but John hadn't thought to wait to be asked this time either, he closed the distance between them and restrained Rodney's reaching hand with a hard grip on his wrist. The device was a small silver rectangle, slightly smaller than a life signs detector, but instead of a screen to display data, this object had two gold and green octagons inset into the surface. It was, to him anyway, obviously Ancient. "No touching, Rodney. That's what you always tell me," John said.

Jack laughed and said, "He's never said that to me, Colonel. Maybe you're doing it wrong."

"Jack," Rodney said in a warning tone. "Working here. And you, Colonel grabby, would you care to let go, so I can get my scanner?"

John let go of Rodney's wrist after one more hard squeeze and turned to glare at Captain Jack. "So, just what branch of the military are you in?"

Jack laughed, and how had John known he would do that? "I'm not actually active, in the military that is, anymore," he said.

"Right," John said.

"It's the hair that gave it away wasn't it?" Jack grinned at him, big and guileless. "It always does."

Rodney saved his—ex boyfriend, fucktoy, comedy partner, whatever he was—from a bloody nose by bustling up with a bag of equipment and thrusting between the two of them. "Jack, go try your wiles on Ronon, that ought to be good for a laugh. Sheppard is actually useful; you're just a distraction."

Jack, sniffed in mock disdain, called Rodney fickle and wandered back over to the window. To John's intense surprise, Ronon joined him there.

Rodney started up various computers, hooked up several scanning devices and kept up his usual muttering of incomprehensible babble while he worked. Since they weren't about to die horrible deaths, John didn't bother to interrupt. When Rodney called Teyla over to hold the device this way and that as instructed, John wandered away a little so he could eavesdrop on Ronon and Jack. Teyla played lab assistant while Jack and Ronon discussed motorcycles. Jack made an offer to take Ronon for a ride. Ronon ignored the underlying innuendo and accepted with a slap on Jack's back hard enough to stagger a lesser man, and suddenly they were discussing unarmed combat styles. John's interest was piqued; Jack seemed to really know what he was talking about, and he was getting full sentence answers out of Ronon.

John was just going to sidle a little closer when Rodney noticed he'd strayed. "Get back over here, Colonel. I'm about ready to have this thing turned on. Here, see what you think." Rodney waved for Teyla to hand the device to John.

Jack had turned back to watch the action. Ronon strode right up to the table in case of, well with Ancient tech you never really knew what, but John picked up the device and nothing seemed to happen. All he could feel was a sort of itch at the back of his mind "It, well it's subtle, but I'd swear it's trying to connect to something." John scrunched up his face and tried to concentrate at it a little harder.

Rodney checked his monitoring equipment. "I'm not reading any signal of any kind; well, not any kind I'm measuring for, at any rate. The energy output is very tiny, so it wouldn't be detectable at any sort of distance."

"A receiver of some kind?" John said doubtfully.

"Hmmm," Rodney said, and John was reasonably certain that meant total bafflement. "Lee at least had the brains to send the specs to Atlantis, so a database search may turn something up."

"It does seem defaulted to stay on once you turn it on," John said. He set the device back on the table and the energy reading remained constant, which was interesting since the thing had disappeared.

"Okay, that's–" Rodney reached out a finger and touched the empty space where the small device had been, and still was as it turned out; it reappeared as soon as he touched it. Rodney messed around, turning the device on and off, making it wink in and out of view. He set it on a borrowed kitchen scale and when it disappeared the reading on the scale returned to zero. Teyla, Ronon and Jack were unable to feel the devise when it was invisible; their hands passed through it as if it wasn't there. "It's not just cloaked," Rodney said.

"So?" John said after a couple of hours of watching everyone play hide and seek with it.

"Haven't got a clue, yet," Rodney said and then raised his voice, "Jack, geniuses don't live on air you know."

"Feeling peckish?" Jack said with amusement.

Jack had some food sent up and watched Rodney and Ronon in action for a minute and then called for some more. Teyla mentioned Torren, and Jack immediately perked up and asked to see pictures. "I'm afraid I have none with me," she said.

"I do," Rodney said and hit some keys and swung around his laptop. "Just pretend you can't see any highly classified stuff in the background okay?"

Jack entered into a detailed discussion about childcare with Teyla that got John wondering again just who the hell this guy really was. He was charming Teyla, had seemed to charm Ronon as well, and then there was whatever he was to Rodney to consider, or maybe not consider was a better idea—John couldn't make up his mind.

Rodney had been staring at the ceiling for a while ignoring everyone around him. "Right," he said, not bothering to wait for a break in the conversation. "I'm going to analyze some data. Now you're all welcome to sit and watch that, but I don't think even you people are that insane so…"

"Are you telling us all to run along, Rodney?" Jack asked.

"Hmmm, well, yes actually. Not you though, Colonel. I've got one more job for you."

"I'm not finding you blue jello, Rodney." John said lazily.

Rodney just glared at him as the rest of them cleared the room. "I want you to do something for me," Rodney said seriously when they were alone. "I want you to go talk to Jack."

"Okay? Any particular topic there, buddy, or can I just choose."

"Look, Jack has been through some stuff lately, and no I can't tell you, because I'm not supposed to know. Shit, he's just, I think you would understand. Just go find a bottle of whiskey and talk to him. Please."

John stared at Rodney for a long time. He was totally sincere and absolutely not telling the whole truth. John just didn't know where the holes in the story were. "I'll think about it," was all John was willing to say. "Do I have to tell you not to do anything crazy working on that thing alone?"

"You just did, so the question's moot isn't it. Get out of here; now you're the distraction."

"Yeah, yeah." John ambled out the door and didn't even hesitate, he headed right for the main floor where he'd seen a bar just off the lobby.

* * *

John knocked on Jack's door, and Jack pulled the door open with an expectant smile.

"Just me," John said and swung a bottle of bourbon between two fingers. "I figured with us being the only two Americans here, we could bond over some of Kentucky's finest."

Jack grinned at him and stepped back. John followed him into the room and then out onto the balcony. Jack pointed him to a rustic looking chair that John was afraid would give him splinters in unfortunate places and retreated to find some glasses. He came back with two tumblers and a bucket of ice. "So, John, why are you really here?" he said as he poured them each what looked like triples.

"What if I told you Rodney sent me?" John took a long sip and remembered again why he hated this stuff.

"I'd say that might be perfectly true and still wouldn't answer my question." Jack took a long drink and grimaced and shook his head. "Much more of a scotch man, really."

"What if I told you I was hopping to get you drunk enough to tell me what fucking planet you're really from?"

"I'd say we're getting to the truth, or part of it anyway." Jack stopped smiling. "Why did Rodney send you, do you know?"

"Oh you know Rodney, everything's right there on the surface with him—nothing hidden, no secrets. He wants me to talk to you, thinks I'm going to understand you."

Jack laughed and it didn't even sound too bitter, unless you'd heard yourself laugh the same way one too many times. "I lost two of my team," he said with not a trace of inflection.

"Shit," John said and grabbed the bottle to top up their drinks.

Jack turned his gaze on John and the laughing, flirting, mischievous man was gone. There was nothing looking at him but pain as deep as the sea under Atlantis. "My scientist, I lost my scientist."

"Fuck, just fuck." John looked away. He thought of a few curses he could heap on Rodney's head. He thought of getting up and running down the few flights of stairs, so he could punch him in the face. He took a long drink of the too-sweet whiskey and glared at the beautiful mountain view. "Were you...?" and he didn't know what pronoun to use.

"Sleeping with her?" Jack smirked a little. "No, though Rodney thinks I love the ones I don't sleep with the most."

"Rodney is often full of shit," John said savagely.

"Are you claiming that you love all three of them equally then?" Jack sounded nothing other than mildly curious.

"What?"

Jack laughed. "Please, Colonel Sheppard. Don't try to pretend with me. You, them, love. Easy to see if you have your eyes open."

"I'm not, I mean yeah I care, but..." John was regretting every drop of whiskey.

"You're telling me you're not sleeping with any of them? Ever?"

"No." John was nearly yelling, he took another drink, like that would help. "We're a team, we can't—you can't mess that up."

"Bullshit."

"It's not," John said, absolutely sure he was right. You could not mess up a team with emotions like that, it always led to horrible consequences.

"Fuck off," Jack said pleasantly. "You want me to think I can cope with their deaths better than I could Ianto's? Well I can't. I can't cope at all, and you're deluding yourself." John started to answer but Jack cut him off. "You practically vibrate from your territorial imperative whenever I go near them, you know. Thought you were going to start barking at me when I got too close to Ronon. You stand close enough to Rodney to be his second skin, and you grin over those pictures of Torren like he's your kid. How did she ever get away from you long enough to find a man to have children with anyway?"

"Think you've got me confused with you there, buddy. I can actually keep it in my pants."

"Is that what you tell yourself when you go to bed alone?" Jack sneered at him genially.

"Are you always this much of an asshole?"

"No, not really." Jack stood and crossed to the balcony railing, and set his glass down on the rough wood. "Sometimes I go a whole day without pissing anyone off. You?"

"Depends, if there's no Generals around, I'm usually good."

Jack made a noise of understanding and amusement.

"It gets better," John said.

Jack gave him a long look. "It never does you know." He turned back to stare at the mountains. "Sometimes I think I need someone to come and carry me off somewhere far from here. Is another galaxy far enough?"

"No." John stood up, needing to move suddenly, needing to claw his way out of this bear trap Rodney had pushed him into. He had a feeling he knew just what Rodney had been planning with this little meeting, so he turned to go back into Jack's room and then out the door.

"Time travel doesn't help either," Jack said quietly.

John's flight was arrested by those words. "No," John said wondering just how much this guy did know.

"Freezing yourself in box for a few decades doesn't really work either."

"No."

"I even tried getting married once, settling down or at least pretending too," Jack said and turned around to face him.

"Did that work?" John asked.

"For a while."

John nodded his head. A while could be a long time or no time at all.

"Should I try your method? Will I be able to cope then if I pretend I don't love them?"

John closed his eyes and saw Ford's face the way he did in his dreams, whole and alive and lost. "No," he said again.

"I thought not." Jack took a deep breath and some of the brokenness was gone from him voice when he said, "Look, just go, John. Rodney shouldn't have sent you here just because he wants to play with his new toy."

John tried to damp down the hot flush of anger that flowed through him when Jack said Rodney's name, but he'd had too much to drink, too much of a lot of things, so he said, "I think his motives might have been even more ulterior than that."

"How so?"

"I think he sent me here so you could fuck me," John said, and he believed it, and damned if he was going to let Rodney pimp him out like that. John pulled his shirt off over his head and dropped it on the floor. He turned and walked back into the room, letting Jack see the gun that was still tucked into his pants. He set it on the nightstand, checking that the safety was on from unthinking habit.

"So you think that's a good plan then, I take it?" Jack said from right behind him.

John turned and looked at Jack Harkness, alien of indeterminate origin, man who could kiss Rodney like he knew him inside out, and do it for show in front of John and the rest of the team. The man Rodney had thrown him at like Rodney owed him a favour, and John was the whore he was paying the favour with. John ripped open his belt and yanked on the buttons of his fly. "I like my plan better." John kicked away his shoes. "I'm going to fuck you," John said and grabbed Jack and kissed him hard, careless with his teeth and the press of his fingers into soft flesh.

Jack let him, just let John manhandle him onto the bed and let him pull and tug at his clothes until he was close enough to naked for John's purposes. He let John hurt him with his mouth and grab too hard with his fingers. He let John press him flat and thrust against him, too angry and turned on and half way to insane to do anything more coherent. Jack let him go at it until the anger was draining away, leaving behind a sick feeling in his gut.

He must have faltered in his ragged thrusting or made some sound, or hell, who knows, maybe Jack could smell the change in him. Jack shimmied his body, hooked a leg around John, and gently, gently rolled them over. He pinned John's wrists to the bed with just a kiss of pressure, and he lapped gently at John's lips with his tongue and then kissed him so softly and sweetly that John thought he might truly go mad. Jack touched John carefully; caresses on his anger-flushed face, gentle skimming down his collar bone, a press of a thumb to his nipple. He left off kissing to follow the trail of his hand with his lips and tongue, gentle soothing kisses and licks that trailed sweet fire down John's body. Jack kept sliding lower, letting go of John's hands finally, and in the next breath he plunged his tongue into John's navel. He laughed when John writhed and bucked under him, and left that place to travel farther. He rubbed his cheek against the soft flesh of John's belly, and John nearly laughed then himself from the sensation.

Jack slid off the bed, landing in a sprawl on the floor. He grabbed John's ankles and pulled. John raised his head to see Jack smiling up at him, a considering look on his face, before he bent his head and licked John's cock from root to tip and back again. He tormented John with his tongue for a bliss-filled age, licking and kissing and stopping every once in a while to tongue at John's balls. He kept laughing low in his throat at John's low voiced cursing and writhing, and when John was getting ready to, Christ, ask if he'd be so kind as to suck him already, he took John into his mouth and sucked long and slow and sweet, the same way he kissed. He held John down with the feather-light touch of a hand on his hip, and sucked him until he wanted to scream. "Jesus, you're good at that," John said instead, barely a whisper.

Jack laughed around his cock and pulled off, briefly licking the head in consolation. "I like it. It's fun," he said, and then, "You're so quiet, I'd love it if you made some noise."

John wondered anew what world made a man like Jack, and he gave him what he'd asked for; he screamed and cried out, and possibly even sobbed a little as he came. Jack licked him clean, the sweet smile never leaving his face, and then he climbed back up on the bed to let John have a taste. John sucked on Jack's tongue long enough to convince himself that Jack could kiss forever, and that he really did have the nerve to return the favour. He pulled away and made to repeat Jack's slide down the bed. "I'm not very good at this," he said and Jack laughed, softly and with not a trace of mockery.

"It's enough to know that you want to," Jack said and scooted down the bed to let his long legs dangle over John's shoulders. "Can I," Jack said hesitantly, "can I touch your hair, or does it annoy you?"

"Make yourself at home," John said, even though he always had found it irritating. Jack sat up while John was planning his attack, and slid his fingers along John's neck and then drew them up through his hair. "Holy, shit," John said as his whole body quivered. Jack grinned at him, and John was moved to try and change the nature of that grin. He licked at the head of Jack's cock, swirling his tongue and getting used to the taste. Jack didn't disappoint him, he moaned loudly and ecstatically and it should have sounded campy and over the top, and it just did not. John took him into his mouth, as far as he could, and bobbed his head and sucked and thought, yeah, it is fun. Jack made lots of noises, spouted some words that were not English and tugged on John's hair only when he was trying to warn him that he was coming. John decided to go for broke and kept his lips tight around Jack's cock. He swallowed, not very gracefully or with any finesse but he was looking up happily at Jack when he was done, the taste of come on his tongue.

Jack flopped back on to the bed and flung his arms out, obviously sated. John thought that was his cue to get up and find his clothes, but Jack, not surprisingly, had other plans. As soon as John stood up, Jack hooked his legs around John and tipped him over onto the bed in a move that John was absolutely trying out on Ronon in other, less naked, circumstances. John crashed down beside Jack, and Jack wrapped one arm around him and pulled him in tight. John thought he should be feeling awkward and embarrassed, but he just wasn't. None of this made any sense, but Jack was kissing him again, so he stopped thinking about it.

"Still angry?" Jack asked him after a while.

"I don't think I have the energy."

"Let me ask you something, did you know that Rodney was so wide ranging in his tastes?"

"I take it we're not talking about food here?" Jack pinched his ass, so he sighed and gave in to the inevitable. He wondered if that was how everybody felt with Jack, like he was pulling them down a slope they hadn't even seen before they started tumbling down. "I didn't have any idea," John confessed.

"And yet you've lived in each other's pockets for years."

"Yeah," John said, hearing a bit of sullen in his voice.

"I know what your rules are," Jack said seriously, "and I know that he hides his real self to protect you and all the men in uniform that came before you. He almost left the SGC to come work for me because of that."

"When?" John was suddenly afraid, terrified that he'd be going back to Atlantis a man short.

"Oh, before he ever met you, you can be sure of that. I couldn't pry him away from you now, and I wouldn't try."

"What the fuck is this, the Jack Harkness dating service?" John asked.

Jack laughed, "No, not that. I just don't want you to blame Rodney if you wake up tomorrow full of regrets."

"Nah, no regrets. I liked it. It was fun. What about you, you okay?"

"I'll have to be; a little grief isn't going to kill me."

* * *

John wandered into the conference room-cum-lab late the next morning, armed with extra coffee. He found Rodney sitting on the sofa and studying something intently on his laptop. It looked like Rodney had slept there the night before.

"Making progress?" John asked, handing over one of the coffees.

"No," Rodney said and hit a few keys on his laptop. "I'm looking over a few CVs for Jack. I figure I should find him someone good, since I owe him a few favours."

John smirked into his coffee, "So you're stumped then?"

"Please, I had a working hypothesis when everyone else was still going ga-ga over the phase shifting. I already know what it is."

"So," John flicked a finger at Rodney's ear, "spill."

"It's half of something. I think, am almost positive, it's a tracking device for enemy ships. This part you stick on the ship, and it sends out a signal through subspace to the receiver. And, it can't even be touched by a non-Ancient, so..."

"So, I want one," John said.

"Yes, yes, and a pony too."

"Nah, I had one of those."

"Hmmm. There may very well be a receiver sitting in a box back home, and Jack said I could keep this half."

"So, we can go home now?" John asked.

"Mmmm, yes. As soon as Jack gets back with Ronon and Teyla. He took them shopping."

"Shopping." John tried to picture Ronon in a mall and failed utterly, but it occurred to him that if they were going to be left alone for a while, he'd have to find something for them to do. "So, Rodney, do you like bourbon?" he said blandly.

"At ten o'clock in the morning?"

"You've done what you came here for, so I say we're on vacation now. Come on, we'll split the back half of the bourbon. You'll like it—it'll be fun."

"Yes, okay, fine, there's nothing else to do," Rodney said, and he followed John up the stairs.


End file.
